Greek philosophers
Hierocles of Alexandria
Hierocles of Alexandria was a Greek Neoplatonic philosopher and writer who was a disciple of Plutarch of Athens.
From Athens, Hierocles returned to Alexandria, where he began to teach. But he was probably expelled from there, so he went to Constantinople. Here, too, he was imprisoned for his religious and philosophical views.
Hierocles condemned astrological fatalism on the grounds that astrology relied on the irrational rather than on divination and divine providence. For the same reason, he condemned various occult and magical practices because they tend to substitute for a harmonious divine order.
His views were widely accepted in the Renaissance, when many of his works were translated into many European languages. His works show a reconciliation between traditional Greek religion and the Christian faith.